


Hubert Commits a Political Assassination

by Fishykarp



Series: Brighter than a Flame [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Assassination Attempt(s), Drama & Romance, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, M/M, Marriage, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:08:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25312087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fishykarp/pseuds/Fishykarp
Summary: The war is over. Hubert and Ferdinand are living happily, and going to get married. Too bad Edelgard has other plans.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Series: Brighter than a Flame [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1833469
Kudos: 33





	Hubert Commits a Political Assassination

_Imperial Year 1189, Great Tree Moon._

“-we shall invite everybody in Fodlan, and beyond!” Ferdinand announced, waving his hands in the air and nearly toppling off the chair he was standing on. “Of course Edelgard and Bernadetta and all them will have to come for political reasons, but I think we could do bigger. You know where Claude is, right? I mean, you must, with all your spies and informants. We can invite him, or what about Seteth and Flayn? They must be out there, somewhere. It could be a whole school reunion.”

Hubert scoff . “Only _you_ would begin planning a wedding two weeks before it begins.”

“Oh, Hubert. I’ve been planning this for months.” Ferdinand replied. “I merely proposed to you two weeks before the weeding.”

“Is that so…?” Hubert asked.

“Why, of course.” Ferdinand said. “I felt it fitting to propose on your birthday, and coinciding the wedding with mine should be the perfect excuse to make the festivities even more extravagant. Of course, I knew the window of time between the two isn’t all that large, so I’ve been planning this in secret for a considerable length of time!”

Hubert felt his cheeks warming. Ferdinand was a big fan of extravagant displays of love, and this wedding certainly counted. Hubert had never enjoyed indulging in spectacle and overblown melodrama, but when it came from Ferdinand… Still, one thing weighed heavily on his mind.

“Well, yes, that’s all quite impressive, but, Ferdinand?” Hubert said. He felt a pit growing in his stomach. “There’s something I must confess.”

Ferdinand paused in his theatrics, stepping off his chair and sitting in it opposite Hubert. “Is something wrong?”

Hubert glanced around the room that he and Ferdinand shared, not really looking at anything but unable to meet his eye.

“I- I’d hoped this day would never come.” Hubert said, his voice low and shaking. “Edelgard has ordered a purge of the nobility.”

Ferdinand raised a wary eyebrow. “And you’re informing me of this… development. Why?”

“You deserve to know, before I kill you.”

“Ah.”

Hubert’s heart burned, gnawing at him with a furious hunger. He held his head in his hands. “Ferdinand. I love you. With all my heart, I love you. But-“

“Your loyalty to Edelgard comes first.” Ferdinand finished. He reached forward, grabbing Hubert’s hand and holding it lightly. “Hubert. Look at me.”

Hubert hesitated, but complied. He’d expected shock, maybe even anger, but Ferdinand’s eyes betrayed only sadness, masked by a fierce determination.

“My love for you burns brighter than a flame, all the world’s oceans could not douse it.” Ferdinand said, meeting Hubert’s gaze. “I understand. Sometimes we don’t get what we want.”

He glanced away. For a moment, a tense silence hung over the pair. “The wedding is in twelve days. Can Edelgard wait that long?”

Hubert took a breath, composing himself before he spoke. “She’ll have to. I refuse to live my life without marrying the man I love.”

No more words were exchanged. The two stood, pushing the table aside, and fell into eachother’s embrace. They sobbed until there were no more tears left to shed.

</>

_Two Weeks Later. Garreg Mach._

“Seteth! Flayn! Glad you could make it! I know we last met on rocky terms, but I can assure you, there will be nothing but joyous merriment today. In fact, I’ve had fish-shaped cupcakes made specifically for-”

Hubert watched from the other side of the ballroom as his soon-to-be husband greeted guests. How Ferdinand was able to keep so jovial and composed was beyond him, but he wasn’t surprised. Ferdinand was an optimist, a shining beacon of light that brightened the days of everyone around him just by existing. It’s one of the reasons Hubert loved him so dearly.

And one of the reasons it’d hurt so much when he’d have to kill him.

“So, this party wasn’t a trap, huh?”

Hubert glanced to his right. Claude, leaning against the wall.

“If I wished to capture you, I could’ve done it years ago.” He said curtly.

“No kidding,” Claude said, taking Hubert’s reply as an invitation to slide closer. “Your spies are everywhere.”

“You imply that you don’t still command considerable resources yourself.” Hubert said. “We both know that you still have informants within the empire.”

“Yeah…” Claude said. “I heard about Edelgard’s orders. I’m sorry.”

Hubert turned away to continue watching Ferdinand. “We’ve made our peace. Loyalty means making difficult choices.”

A beat.

“Welp.” Claude said, standing up straight and stretching. “I’d better go see what Lysithea’s up to. It’s been ages since I’ve last seen her. Officially, at least.”

With Claude departing, Hubert was once again left with his thoughts. Was he truly making the right choice? He loved Ferdinand, that was never in doubt, but it would be selfish of him to let love outweigh his duty to the empire?

The wedding went by in a blur. From the beginning of the ceremony until the “I do”, Hubert was lost within his own thoughts. Was he truly doing the right thing? Was there even a right thing to do? He had to kill Ferdinand, else Edelgard would simply send somebody else, but it was pain beyond pain for it to be him.

Even as the two ascended the Goddess Tower, Hubert didn’t say a word. He merely held Ferdinand’s hand, fearing that once he let go, he’d never hold it again. It was a tradition for a marriage ceremony at Garreg Mach to end in the Goddess Tower, where the couple would pray for a prosperous and happy union.

Edelgard was waiting at the top.

“You’ve had your wedding.” She said. “Now, Ferdinand dies.”

“Yes, Lady Edelgard.” Hubert turned to Ferdinand. “Stand against the stained glass window. I’ll try to make this as painless as I can.”

Ferdinand said nothing, but did as Hubert said. Hubert suppressed every instinct in his body to stop, to turn his magic on Edelgard instead and protect Ferdinand.

“I know how hard this must be, Hubert.” Edelgard said. “If you want me to kill him-“

“No.” Hubert said. “It must be me.”

“Very well,” Edelgard replied. “Ferdinand?”

“Yeah?”

“Congratulations on the marriage.”

Hubert approached Ferdinand, each step echoing in the old tower. Tears filled Ferdinand’s eyes, that he was struggling to hold in. The two fell again into eachother’s arms, kissing with the passion of doomed love.

“I love you.” Hubert said.

“It’ll be ok.” Ferdinand responded. “I love you too.”

Hubert closed his eyes, and _pushed._

Ferdinand fell backwards, crashing through the old window and freefalling to the ground below. Hubert fell to his knees, staring down at the broken body of his lover, and _sobbed_.

</>

_Four days later. Unknown._

Hubert’s journey was complete. Under complete secrecy, hiding even from Edelgard and his own spies, he made his way here. A small cabin, deep in the woods, unknown to the world. He opened the door.

“Hey, Hubert, great to see you!”

Claude stood in the back of the cabin, beside Seteth and Flayn. They stood beside a bed, wherein lay-

“Ferdinand.” Hubert rushed forward to his husband. “Is he alright?”

“Yeah, somehow.” Claude said. “I’ll tell you, Flayn has some impressive healing magic. It’s like she’s not even human or something, it’s impressive.”

Seteth began reaching for his lance.

“Eh, whatever, not like I really care.” Claude said, “I’ve got other things to do. No need to thank me.”

With that, Claude left the cabin, shortly followed by Flayn and Seteth.

“That was quite the trick we pulled on Edelgard.”

Hubert’s head whipped around to look at the bed, Ferdinand was sitting up.

“You need to rest.” Hubert cautioned, moving to help his husband lie down.

“I’m-“ Ferdinand coughed. “I’m fine. Flayn and Seteth helped speed up my recovery greatly.”

Hubert raised his eyebrow. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Besides, you just got here. You need to rest as much as I do.” Ferdinand pointed at a pot and cup resting on it. “I brewed some coffee for you.”

Hubert smiled. “Thank you, Ferdinand.”

  
Goddess, he loved his husband.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not entirely sure if Edelgard would act this way based on canon, but I'd like to imagine she would if she was 8% more unhinged.


End file.
